Mean Girls
by AngeliaForever
Summary: When a 17-year-old girl mysteriously disappears, the CSIs will soon discover that their disappearance is related to the dark secrets kept by their high school.
1. Disclaimer&Cast

**CSI Miami: Mean Girls**

**Disclaimer**: This is a fictional episode of CSI Miami, but some of the characters featured here do belong to the series. This chapter is located between episodes 12 and 13 of the sixth season of CSI Miami.

**Cast**

Holland Roden as Ashley Jackson

Brandi Bondoc as Lucy White

Jessica Stam as Katlyn Stone

Lindsay Ellintong as Alice Ross

Najarra Townsend as Claire Scott

Jake Abel as Charlie Sheridan

Cole Petersen as Logan Sheridan

Jamie Kennedy as Nathan Harris

Donnie Wahlberg as Arthur Jackson

**Synopsis**

When a 17-year-old girl mysteriously disappears, the CSIs will soon discover that their disappearance is related to the dark secrets kept by their high school.


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter 1**

It was one of those typical mid-December days in Miami. It was cloudy and cool. While the high school rugby team was training, two girls chatted in the stands.

-Ash, ¿do you know who to ask to be your date at the winter dance?

-I don't know -she turned her red hair away from her face-. I'd like to go to the dance with a friend, someone I can trust.

-Are you asking me out on a date?

Ashley gave her a slap.

-Don't be dumb, Lu. What I mean is that I want to dance with a guy I like, that's all.

-Isn't there anyone you like? Not even a little bit?

-Okay, yes, but that someone is the Queen Bee's private property.

-You mean Charlie? Okay, he's gorgeous, but besides that, ¿¡have you gone nuts!?

-Speaking of insanity, my father will be going crazy to see that I don't take his cell phone. I must have the wasap full of messages -Ashley laughed-. Well, see you evening.

Lucy got up and said goodbye to her friend with a hand gesture.

* * *

Ashley's in a dark alley with a worried look. Suddenly three hooded shapes cut her off. After a short exchange of words, pounce on her and start beating her. Ashley shouts and defends herself, but in response to her resistance her attackers stab her until she stops moving.

* * *

Miami P.D. Lab was starting to empty. The CSIs were leaving the lab, eager to get home and have a hot dinner. On some doors there were even decorations that reminded us that Christmas was just around the corner.

-¡H! -Eric Delko turned to his boss and friend-. In the hall there is a man who wants to talk to you.

Surprised, Lieutenant Horatio Caine went down to the hall where an old friend was waiting for him.

-¡Arthur! ¡Long time no see!

Arthur Jackson and Horatio Caine met at the police academy and had always been very close friends. But judging from Arthur's tense, worried face, it wasn't just a visit. He confirmed it himself.

-I wish I were here for other reasons. I've come to file a report.

-¿What happened?

-My daughter Ashley has disappeared. She was supposed to be home by 21:30. I am sure something bad has happened to her.

-¿How are you so sure about that?

Arthur took his cell phone and showed him the last message he received from his daughter. Only "Hello, Dad" was heard before a sequence of screams and beatings. A few seconds later the phone line was cut.

-I'm going to call the CSI team right now. We'll find out what happened to your daughter.

* * *

Tracking the location of an iPhone is the easiest thing in the world, especially if its carrier is a 17-year-old teenager. The location of Ashley's mobile took the CSI to Royal Palm, a lighted but little-traveled street. A faint smell of bleach floated in the air.

-According to the GPS, the girl's cell phone should be around here.

With a flashlight, Natalia began to examine the sidewalk in search of a clue. In a corner she found some hair. She put them in a bag, tagged them and moved on. A flash a sinkhole caught his attention. Focusing on the flashlight she discovered Ashley's cell phone in the mud.

-I found the mobile! Let's see if I can take it.

As soon as the mobile was brought to the surface with the help of a hook, Calleigh became aware of the smell of bleach that was beginning to flood her nostrils. At a certain point, the smell became very strong. They knew what that smell meant. She took out a spray of luminol and sprayed the area.

In the middle of the darkness of the night, the huge blood stain, now a bright blue, illuminated the entire alley.

-Look -whispered Eric-. Here there must be a liter and a half of blood. Judging from the low velocity splashes, I'd say she took a beating.

-Is it possible that she was killed here and then the body was disposed of?

-I don't know. The amount of blood present corresponds to very serious wounds, which would require urgent medical assistance.

They took photos of the crime scene and went to the laboratory. Although the hair results would be inconclusive, the next day something happened that altered the course of the investigation.

* * *

At Brickell High School, the news that Ashley Jackson was missing ran like gunpowder. It was recess and dozens of students were swirling in the hall in front of the bulletin board. Despite the murmurs, everyone struggled to understand the tutor's explanations, who had called the police to come to the institute. And it wasn't to ask for explanations about the circumstances of Ashley's disappearance.

Nathan Harris was a teacher who had joined the school shortly after the murder of Valerie Gaynor had been solved and those responsible for the drug trafficking ring that had ravaged the school were arrested.

-I found him at 11:30 a.m. I'm aware that Ashley is missing, so I got so scared. After that drug trafficking plot was discovered - Horatio glanced sidelong at Logan Sheridan, one of the ex-dealers who looked at the note with stein-like eyes-, the whole cloister is on permanent state of alert.

The mass of students was opened so that Horatio, Calleigh and Eric could reach the board.

-Ashley was killed -Nathan sentenced-. If this is not conclusive evidence, I don't know what it will be.

As he approached the bulletin board, Horatio could hardly conceal his astonishment. Because stuck with a thumbtack, there was an anonymous one that said, "I killed Ashley Jackson."


	3. Chapter II

**Chapter 2**

After a few seconds of stupefaction Calleigh took pictures of the anonymous. Then she took the thumbtack and threw in a few drops of luminol. The tip of the thumbtack was dyed deep pink. Surely the author had nailed it to himself when he placed the note on the plank.

-It's possible that we can extract DNA from the thumbtack, because it's the only thread we can pull. The note has no fingerprints of any kind and the thumbtack -she took out a magnifying glass and saw that the dust for taking fingerprints had not yielded any results -, has no residue of any kind apart from blood.

-Take them to the lab for analysis. Eric and I are going to interrogate the girl's tutor. Whoever tortured Ashley is obviously one of his teammates.

Nathan Harris signaled Horatio and Eric to come to his office. Sitting in comfortable chairs, Horatio began his interrogation.

-Did Ashley Jackson have any problems with anyone?

-With the teachers I would say no. She's one of the best students Brickell High has ever had. She has a photographic memory and prodigious intelligence. And as for whether she had problems with anyone... -he sighed-. Ashley never messed with anyone but a few days ago there was an incident with some classmates.

-What kind of incident? -Eric wanted to know.

-There is a very popular group of girls. Their names are Katlyn Stone, Claire Scott and Alice Ross. Everyone is used to doing what they say and if there is an incident of bullying they look the other way. But Ashley wasn't like that...

_Flashback start_

_It's recess and there are a lot of students in the hallways. Ashley and her friend Lucy are chatting in the lockers. Ashley turns her head and watches with curiosity Logan Sheridan, who walks down the hallway with a fast and fearful pace. Logan keeps the books in his locker and at the end finds three girls who look like they just left the stylist: Katlyn, Alice and Claire._

_-Hey girls, let's see what this shit has in the box office._

_With laughter they took out the contents of the box office and began to pass it to each other, before the impotent look of Logan. But Ashley took the books from their hands and put them in the boy's locker. For a moment she thought of slapping them with a smile, but realized what they were looking for was to provoke her, and decided not to play along. Instead he said:_

_-It would be great if those who had more than silicone in their heads would stop and think about the circumstances in which drugs came to school and the damage they have done to a lot of people. Last month Valerie Gaynor died and a 13-year-old girl ended up in hospital because the teacher's motherfucker sold narcotics to his students and didn't think twice about manipulating 14-year-olds into dealers, so poor guy who says something or makes any out-of-tune comments._

_She found that his speech had made a dent. Now the faces of those present were serious and circumspect, but ¿how many more would she have to hit? ¿How many more sermons would she have to deliver?_

_Katlyn just glanced at her and left. Logan whispered "thank you" to Ashley before Nathan's surprised and proud eyes._

_End of flashback._

-Do you really think those girls would be able to hurt Ashley?

-I don't know. They're the high school queens. No one but Ashley was out of her control. Well, Ashley and her best friend, Lucy White.

As they left the office they got a call from Calleigh.

-Did you find out who the hair belongs to?

-Negative. The DNA was very deteriorated because of the bleach, but I was able to find out that the hair belongs to three women, probably their aggressors, since we found them a few meters from where the girl was attacked. Natalia and Walter are on the victim's cell phone to see if we can find any leads.

-We found three suspects. Eric and I are going to interrogate them. Keep us posted.

* * *

Katlyn, Claire and Alice were summoned to Nathan's office to take a statement. Katlyn had a calm countenance and showed a defiant smile.

-According to your tutor, you had an argument with Ashley.

-Yes, we did, but that's no reason to kill anyone. But... -She looked at her friends as if they were looking for help, but Alice and Claire encouraged her to continue-, Charlie Sheridan got on badly with Ashley. They were like the dog and the cat.

_Flashback start_

_They are in Biology class and Nathan is explaining the respiratory system of mammals, using the scheme of a rabbit's lungs as a reference. Ashley is taking notes in her notebook and Katlyn and Alice are whispering to each other. The next slide is her digestive system, where a box shows the animal's teeth._

_-The rabbit's incisors grow indefinitely to withstand the intense wear to which they are subjected throughout their lives. This characteristic is unique to rodents._

_-It's not so exclusive to rodents -said Katlyn as she mocked a girl with glasses and huge paddles-. In that desk is living proof._

_The whole class laughed, but Ashley didn't seem to like it at all._

_-Katlyn, you also belong to the bunny species, although to be more exact I would say the bunny girls._

_Lucy had a laugh. She enjoyed seeing how brazen her best friend could become._

_-You're pathetic. You think that men submit you but in reality you destroy each other. -said Charlie__ Sheridan._

_-I'm not a clone of that badly made Barbie -Ashley grunted-. I am myself._

_-¿Really? Nice clothes and lip gunk._

_-It's lip gloss, asshole. -Katlyn replied._

_-Someone should do women a favor by eliminating stupid girls like you. And since you spend your day talking bullshit, I'd start with you._

_End of Flashback _

-Freaks are so pathetic. They project their frustrations on people better than they do. More if they are daughters of law enforcement.

-Are you suggesting that Charlie beat Ashley to death just because she was a cop's daughter? Try a little harder, Katlyn.

-Maybe she's right -said Claire-. A couple of weeks earlier Charlie almost got kicked out of high school. Rumor has it he broke a guy's face in senior year.

* * *

Charlie Sheridan had a worried face when Horatio entered the interrogation room.

-I guess I'm here because of Ashley's disappearance.

-You guess right. I talked to some classmates and they told me that you threatened Ashley. Aside from your detention for cannabis possession, you have a disciplinary record for hitting an older student.

-Yes, I admit I hit that shit, but only because I was bullying my brother. And I was wrong about Ashley, okay?

-You didn't think she was a clone?

-I realized she was just the opposite of those cretins who wanted to make her one of them.

_Flashback start_

_When the doorbell rang, Ashley walked out on Charlie. The anger in her voice was more than evident.  
_

_-You shouldn't think I'm an idiot just because I like to look pretty.  
_

_-That's right. Mini skirts and makeup are synonymous with intelligence.  
_

_-You're just like them. You judge people by appearances, not by what they are. Of course, I suppose you've had some Katlyn on you after you've been her boyfriend for a while._

_-I'm not like Katlyn, and I have nothing to do with her._

_-¿Really? ¿__Then why are you laugh along with her?_

_-You wouldn't understand. _

_-Wouldn't you understand a little thing called social pressure? Ok, give me a joint._

_-Are you kidding?_

_-Just do it._

_-No!_

_-Do you see? -Ashley smiled radiantly-. ¡That's how you overcome social pressure!_

_Charlie laughed._

_-Everyone admires Katlyn and wants to be his friend. Maybe it's silly to want that._

_-Actually, it seems that's what we all want. And I'd like to ask you something. _

_Ashley played with a lock of her hair. Her eyes, deep green, glowed with nervousness._

_-What if at the winter dance, I could..._

_A loud horn interrupted them. _

_-Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot about my father. I'll tell you later._

_Ashley got into the car and walked away greeting him from the window._

_End of flashback_

-She was a great girl, she didn't deserve this to happen to her.

-If you have anything else to tell us, call me.

Charlie looked at the card with the phone number if it was a big hairy spider, but in the end he put it in his pocket.

As he left the interrogation room Horatio ran into Walter Simmons. His extra pounds didn't stop CSI from running very fast when it wanted to.

-H, come to the CyberCrime section right now. You can't imagine what we found.

They quickly crossed the door and met Ryan Wolfe and Natalia who were staring at the computer in amazement. They began to explain the discovery they had made.

-Ashley's cell phone was quite normal, but after examining his software thoroughly, he discovered a secret e-mail account, which was also encrypted. But most incredible of all was that when he examined his laptop -she pointed to a blue laptop-, we found a secret partition on his hard drive. And you know what that partition had?

Ryan tossed him a wad of documents.

-I don't know how he got access, but it's clear that Ashley was not an ordinary teenager.

Horatio read the documents over, but he recognized them right away. It was a set of reports about a series of robberies and murders that had occurred in Miami in the last few months. A case that Horatio thought was closed. They were a little different from the original reports, since Ashley had written some notes in the margins.

The thinking of all present was:

-But what the hell was that girl up to?


	4. Chapter III

**Chapter 3**

The discovery of police reports on a student's laptop put the CSIs in an awkward situation, but at least they already knew where he had taken them. Ashley's father had been responsible for investigating many of these crimes. He said so himself.

-A couple of months ago I took home that police report. I wanted to study it better, and when I was reading it Ashley appeared. I told him it was a report on a series of robberies that took place in the city. She read it over, but started asking me a lot of questions. Some of those questions were really expert. My daughter loves two things: fashion and criminology.

-Does your daughter know about jewelry?

-A lot. She told me that all the stolen jewelry was before the 19th century, that it would be worth a barbarity in any auction house and that it would be impossible to trace, because none of the gemstones that were set had a serial number. According to her, the thief must have been a professional. Or at least he had some snitch in the houses.

-So your daughter was half a detective -Horatio concluded with a small smile.

-Yes, but I never imagined her able to photocopy those reports. Please find her. Since my wife died in a traffic accident, Ashley is all I have.

-We're trying to reconstruct her steps. In the last few weeks, have you noticed anything unusual about her behavior?

-Well, she was a little nervous but I attributed it to the exams. But... for a couple of weeks she' d often go to a computer store. According to her, she wanted to check for new things. The place is called Pear's and it's on Biscayne Boulevard.

-We'll try to find out what the relationship was with that store, see if we can pull any thread from there.

* * *

Pear's was a busy computer store. There, apart from computers, mobiles and tablets, electronic eavesdroppers and signal interceptors were sold. A young man came out to meet them.

-What can I do for you?

-Police -said Horatio, showing his license plate-. We came to ask you a few questions, ¿are you David Carter?

-Yes, it's me. What happened?

-We're investigating the disappearance of a teenager. Her name is Ashley Jackson -Ryan gave the store owner a picture of the girl-. Does that ring a bell?

-Redhead, slim, pretty... Yes, that's her. I suspected she was investigating something big, but she never told me what it was about. To tell you the truth, that brat was little less than Sherlock Holmes.

-If I remember correctly, you were arrested at the age of seventeen for credit card fraud.

-Sins of youth -smiled David nostalgically-, but after my time in jail I decided to leave Deep Web parked. Until two weeks ago. That girl showed up at my store and told me that she needed help. I thought she wanted to fix her laptop, but nothing like that. What she wanted was a Deep Web expert.

-Someone who as a teenager was a slippery hacker.

-Effectively. For a moment I thought she was hesitating, but she said it wasn't a joke. That she had to dig deep into the black market to track down stolen jewelry. I think they're the ones that were stolen a few months ago, but she never confirmed it to me.

¿And what happened? -Horatio asked.

-I taught her how Tor worked, and after three days she showed up at my store, saying her suspicions were true. Look what she discovered.

David took a USB flash drive out of his pocket and inserted it into his laptop. After a few moments, a series of images appeared on the screen. They were screenshots from the Deep Web.

-As you can see. In a few days he found out that part of those stolen jewels were being auctioned, although the guy you accused of stealing them is in jail. But she said it wasn't him. That the police made a mistake and an innocent man ended up in jail, while the real thief, once the pigeon on duty was rotten in prison, started selling what he stole. Ashley gave me the images after she told me what she suspected. Aside from being very clever, she was very forward-thinking.

-Thank you very much for telling us.

Once on the street, Ryan started talking.

-H, all this seems to be taken from a novel. Student by day and detective by night. At first I thought that girl had an argument with a classmate, and the thing got out of their hands. But now...

-But now it seems that someone got rid of her because she was too close to discovering the truth about a dangerous robber.

* * *

In the lab, the CSIs had also discovered some disturbing facts about the week's victim. Aside from finding out that she was an expert at encrypting information, they also discovered a strange acquisition: a Taser that triggered discharges of up to 70000 volts.

-H, have you found anything at Pear's? -Calleigh asked.

-Strangely enough, Ashley was taking private lessons from an old hacker about Deep Web. Apparently the stolen jewelry from the last few months is being sold.

-That would explain why she bought a Taser two days before she disappeared. She was frightened, that's for sure, and she wanted to defend herself.

-Is there anything of interest in police reports?

-Of course there is. To begin with, she had already shaped a theory about the thefts -Natalia explained-. The notes in the report suggest that a third party planted Doug Baron's DNA at crime scenes. Notes on Doug say it's unlikely that being a non-violent thief, he would beat to death a total of 7 people. The modus operandi, in her opinion, does not belong to a professional.

-¿And what is your opinion on this?

-Maybe Ashley was telling the truth. The theory that someone framed Doug Baron would explain a lot of things. For example, that we would never find prints of any kind at crime scenes, despite the violence of the robberies.

-But Doug Baron had no alibi for any of the crimes, apart from the fact that he had been arrested several times for ransacking houses while their owners were on holiday -Eric objected.

-Even so, I agree that it is very strange that a thief's modus operandi should change so suddenly.

-There's something else, too. In the images section there are several photos of the jewels. They look like they're in a box, but I'm not sure.

She enlarged the picture on the screen. Horatio was amazed.

-Natalia, that's not a box, that's a book that's had the middle part of its pages torn off.

-A fantastic hiding place -Eric studied the edges of the pages-. Judging by the contents of the margins I'd say it's a 19th century botany book. ¿What's the date on the photo?

-December 17th, just one day before she disappeared. The photo was saved in images at 5:30 AM. I talked to Walter to see where she was at that time in the dawn.

The CSI walked into the lab with a half smile and some documents in his hand.

-3:30 AM to 5:30 AM Ashley had her cell phone turned off, so I couldn't track her location, but at 5:15 AM she sent the photo to her computer via her encrypted account, and at 5:10 AM she was at Brickell High School. That's when she took the photo.

-¿Can you find out what part of the high school she was in?

-I already did, Calleigh. According to the location of the cell phone, at 5:30 AM she was in the Biology Department.

Calleigh opened her eyes wide, just like Eric and Horatio.

-He tricked us like a fool, with such kindness -Horatio held an insult-. Ryan, talk to the judge about getting a warrant to search the Biology Department. Nathan Harris knows a lot more than he's saying.

* * *

Nathan Harris was in his office, grading tests. That same afternoon he had the high school students' assessment. He smiled sadly at the sight of the test of his absent student, Ashley Jackson. As expected, she had scored an A.

-¡I'm Lieutenant Horatio Caine! ¡I have a search warrant for your office! ¡Open the door now!

Bewildered, he opened the office door. On the doorstep were Horatio, Calleigh and Eric, very, very angry.

-¿But what's going on? -mumbled the teacher.

Horatio didn't answer. Calleigh and Eric took a book and put it on the table. When Nathan saw the contents he had to lean against the chair to avoid falling over. In that booklet, which he hardly remembered anymore, there were jewels whose value would be equivalent to what he would earn as a teacher in a decade.

-I..., I don't know what all that jewelry is doing in my office -he whispered, unable to say anything else.

-Nathan Harris, you're under arrest on suspicion of the disappearance of Ashley Jackson.

-¡Wait, please! -the man seemed to be about to cry-. I don't know anything about those jewels, but Ashley I think did.

Horatio, about to put the cuffs on him, was baffled.

-¿What do you mean?

-A few days ago Ashley came into my office asking for confidential information. It was about the personal data of all the seniors. I told her no, but she was so upset that I finally agreed. I gave her what she wanted and the next day she came to my office with a folder.

Nathan bent down and pulled out a red folder from a drawer. He opened it and handed Horatio a sheet of paper with a series of names related to arrows. There were a total of 21 names related to other names. Calleigh recognized Ashley's small, round handwriting. And also several names mentioned there. Some arrows were red and some black.

-Ashley asked me to give you this copy if anything happened to him.

Calleigh and Eric, after a few seconds, realized that it had this sheet.

-All these students have close relatives who were victims of the robberies. That's why she needed the students' personal data: she wanted to know the names of their families.

-So... so the people who kidnapped and probably killed Ashley are the same people who stole all that jewelry, or at least gave the information needed to commit the crimes -Eric mumbled.

-One thing is clear: those who got rid of Ashley are complicit in many robberies and murders -Calleigh said.

-And they're classmates -concluded Horatio.


	5. Chapter IV

**Chapter 4**

-¿So you're suggesting DNA testing for all high school students? -Nathan asked after a few seconds.

-Yes, I am. That's the only way to find out who's behind all this -Calleigh answered, while giving him a cotton swab-. You go first.

* * *

In front of Nathan's office there was a long queue of high school students. Calleigh took DNA samples from them with a swab and put them in an evidence bag with the number and name of the student.

The next student to be sampled for DNA was Lucy White, Ashley Jackson's best friend. The girl opened her mouth to have her DNA sample taken. When she was done, Lucy asked Calleigh

-Is it true that Ash was investigating the robberies that have occurred in the last few months?

Calleigh was surprised by the question.

-Yes, but we still don't understand why she did it.

-I think it's because two months ago my stepmother died in one of the robberies -Lucy replied, biting her lip-. Ashley was the first to know, and after my father, she is the person who gave me the most support.

-She was a special girl.

-Not even she realized how special she was.

-¿Is there something you want to tell me?

-Yes, I think I should tell you what happened the night she disappeared. I didn't realize what she wanted to say until today, but I do now.

-According to what her father said, you were at a party.

-Yes, at Katlyn's house -Lucy flashed a mischievous smile-. Ash, apart from having the skills of a CIA agent, was very, very pretty. But when it came to guys, she was a complete disaster.

_Flashback start_

_In Katlyn's living room there are a lot of people drinking and dancing, or just having fun. Ashley is pouring herself a glass of lemonade while she looks around nervously._

_-Ash, please stop drinking so much soda and go over to Charlie's. _

_Ashley looked at him on the sly. He was chatting with some friends, commenting on something funny._

_-He's busy, can't you see? Besides, I highly doubt he'll accept._

_-Nonsense. You're very pretty. -replied Lucy, looking at her friend. And as my name is Lucy White, you're not going to leave here without a date for the winter dance._

_Lucy took her by the hand and led her to where the DJ was, parapetted between the stereo, the tuner and hundreds of compact discs._

_-What's your name?_

_-Jonathan._

_-It's a very biblical name, very nice. Hey, Jonathan, ¿could you fill a glass of orangeade with a little bit of vodka and wait for me over there by the spotlight?_

_Jonathan, hypnotized, flew off to fulfill Lucy's wishes._

_-You've gone out of your way -Ashley admired her._

_But then Lucy, in one fell swoop, threw all the compact discs to the ground. Ashley got angry._

_-¿Are you stupid? ¿Why are you throwing them away?_

_-So you can have some fun with them. It's your punishment for not knowing how to have fun._

_And she disappeared laughing and leaving Ashley confused and bewildered. Had Lucy gone nuts? Had they put something in her drink?_

_She bent over, wanting to strangle her friend__ and cursed the hour when it occurred to her to attend that ruthless bitch's party. __Lucy was really nice and sociable, while Ashley lived almost on the sidelines, only intervening when necessary. Where did she get the strength to stand up to Katlyn and her gang if she was unable to cope with the stage panic she felt in Charlie's presence?_

_Kneeling, dazed and groping the floor with her hands, she was looking for Avril Lavigne's CD which played immediately when the timbre of a deep voice paralyzed her._

_-Lucy tells me you're in trouble._

_Ashley slowly lifted her head and blew her brains out__: a few inches from her face, Charlie's blue eyes inspected her from the darkness. She could feel his breath, could hear his breathing._

_-What happened?_

_Luckily it was very dark and Charlie couldn't see her plight._

_She was going to make up a convincing excuse but she didn't have to. Charlie knelt down next to her and started helping her._

_-What a mess._

_-It was an accident -said Ashley._

_-A lucky accident -pronounced Charlie slowly._

_-¿Lucky? -repeated Ashley foolishly feeling doubly idiot for not getting the hint at first and for not feeling interested enough to be considered the cause of that 'fortune'._

_-I was trying to find an excuse to be alone with you... and I got it._

_Ashley thought Charlie was talking to someone else. She thought it was unbelievable that he was plotting a strategy to get her alone. _

_-And why is that? _

_Her disconcert was so sincere and unflirtatious that Charlie welcomed it like a cold pitcher of water._

_Ashley realized that she had screwed up immediately._

_-I want to say that I am very grateful to you for your math classes -he let fall in a strangely cold and formal tone, as if the voice came through a telephone thread._

_Ashley felt like sticking it to herself. __Sh__e cursed that lack of self-esteem of her that petrified her impulses. Resigned, she left the living room. Lucy approached Charlie with a soda in her hand._

_-How'd it go?_

_-Total failure -he replied, putting his hands in his pockets-. Ashley is very strange. I like her quite a lot, but I'd rather get an engineering degree than try to understand her. __What did he want to tell me?_

_-Nothing -she smiled as she saw Ashley coming down the stairs-. Only if you want to be her date for the winter dance._

_Charlie was speechless, although when he noticed Ashley was right behind him, he went back to his usual expression. __Her face was tense and worried. __She was seldom like this._

_-Ash, are you okay?_

_The girl shook her head in the affirmative._

_-¡Love! -Katlyn pounced on Charlie with an intense mouthful of kisses._

_-¡Yuck! Brother, I think these things are done in hotels._

_-Not even in hotels. At most in alien movies -answered Ashley._

_Logan laughed. To tell it like it is, he loved the sarcasm of that redhead._

_-You make a nice couple -said Katlyn-. Freaks are attracted to each other._

_-¿And you're supposed to be "normal"?_

_-Look, I'm going to make a signature collection for the Christmas festival -she continued-. ¿Do you have anything to contribute?_

_-Of course I do -said Ashley, playing along-. In fact, I have a special signature for you..._

_She scribbled something on a piece of paper and gave it to Katlyn. Out of the corner of her eye Lucy could see the message._

_For Katlyn,_

_¡The world's biggest bitch and a fucking hypocrite! ¡¿__How dare you harass Logan and then snog his brother right under my nose?! ¡You disgust me!_

_Do something with your life, girl! _

_-Thank you very much! -drooled Katlyn._

_Then, with a big smile, she started reading loud and overacting what Ashley had written:_

_-For Katlyn, ¡¿the world's biggest bitch and fucking hypocrite...?! __¡¿__What?!_

_Charlie went up to Katlyn and read the paper. His voice was cold and stony._

_-Katlyn, is it true that you bullied my brother?_

_Before Katlyn could respond, Logan told what had happened_

_-Yes, Charlie, that's right. The other day Katlyn and her friends took my books away and started insulting me, but Ashley stopped them and taught them a good lesson._

_-You're a daughter of a bitch -Katlyn spat-. You hate me for just being a total fashion victim._

_-¡Say that! -grunted Ashley-. But to a very dangerous degree._

_-¡Get out of my house! -__shouted Katlyn._

_Ashley got up and started her way to the door._

_Flashback end_

Calleigh remained silent for a few moments, assimilating what she had just heard.

-Thank you very much, Lucy -she said at last.

* * *

-H! You can't imagine what I've discovered -said Calleigh as they compared DNA samples.

-I'm starting to get used to surprises, so say what happened.

Calleigh summed up what had happened at Katlyn's party.

-¿You're saying that Katlyn and her friends got rid of Ashley? That's impossible. Eric just compared Kaitlyn's DNA and there's no match to the crime scenes.

Eric walked into the lab with the reports in his hand.

-Bad news. The DNA doesn't match the one found at the robberies. We're at an impasse.

¡Dudes! -Natalia walked in with a euphoric smile-. ¡I know where Ashley Jackson is!

She laid out a series of numbers and letters.

-The sheet the teacher gave us had some underlined parts. I put those parts together and it gave me the serial number of a GPS locator.

-¿What's the position of the signal? -he asked impatiently.

-It's in a forest outside of Miami.

Horatio jumped up.

-I'm going to get Alex and Ryan to come with me. We need to find her as soon as possible.

* * *

The police SUV was driving along the muddy road. It had rained a lot and grey clouds covered the sky. At a certain point, the SUV stopped.

-According to the GPS, the girl's around here somewhere.

Horatio, Ryan and Alex started checking the area separately. Alex saw a reflection in some bushes. As she approached her, she saw that it was a few strands of red hair. Prey to a strange premonition, she pushed the bushes aside. Amazed, she saw a girl half hidden by the weeds. That girl was Ashley Jackson

¡-Come here! ¡I found her! -she shouted.

Alex gently touched the girl's jaw. She was cold, yes, but not as cold as one would expect from a corpse. ¿Could it be that she was still...? ¡Yes, she was still alive! But her breath was very weak, agonizing, choppy.

-¡H! ¡The girl's alive! ¡Call 911!

Ryan took pictures of the bushes and Ashley. Her face and arms were bruised, her eyes were closed, and she had a gunshot wound in her left shoulder.

-She was brutally beaten, there's no doubt about it.

The sound of a helicopter made them look up. The paramedics came down and placed Ashley's unconscious, unruly body on a stretcher, tying her up tightly.

-Listen, Ashley. We're going to take you to the hospital -said Horatio-. You're going to be okay, and we're going to get the people who did this to you.

The girl's red hair glowed in the air as they took her away.

* * *

-¿Is there any news about Ashley? - Horatio asked newcomer Alex.

-The doctors say it's a miracle she's still alive. She was subjected to very severe mistreatment that could be classified as torture. She has several broken ribs, a lot of beatings all over her body, internal bleeding and possible septicaemia.

-Something else?

-Yes -Alex sighed-. Apart from multiple defensive wounds, this girl literally defended herself with nails and teeth. I found several pieces of bloody tissue in her teeth and multiple hairs pulled out by the roots, most likely from her attackers. She even fired her Taser. Most disturbing of all, she made some sort of forearm wound. Despite the beating, she kept her faculties intact.

"You didn't know that girl's brain," Horatio thought.

-The signs that were recorded are +TO. I think she engraved them with a hair clip.

Horatio blinked and it dawned on him.

-More than one -whispered .

-¿What?

-There are not only accomplices here, that's what the message means. There are several guilty parties.


	6. Chapter V

**Chapter 5**

-Several guilty parties... That would explain the speed with which the robberies were committed.

That case turned out to be one of the most complicated they had ever seen. Alex gave other even more shocking data.

-Aside from the multiple traumas and signs on the forearm, I found one very strange detail.

She passed them a picture of Ashley's neck.

-She has a hickey -commented Calleigh-. But it was negative on the sexual assault test.

-That's true, but judging by the color of the bruise, she was with someone shortly before she was tortured.

-Were you able to get DNA from the saliva?

-Yes. And the strange thing is, it matches the anonymous confession to Ashley's murder. But Ashley survived that brutal beating. So whoever planted that note...

-Was in love with her, and he knows who tried to kill her.

-Did you run the DNA against her classmates? -Ryan asked.

-Yes. And look what a match that gave me.

* * *

-Does that sound familiar? -asked Horatio.

-Yes, it's my handwriting.

It was getting dark outside, but Charlie Sheridan's expression couldn't be gloomier. He was wearing a black suit and a white shirt. It was obvious that he had prepared for the winter dance that night.

-But why did you do it? She was your friend, she even defended your brother.

-People kill for no reason.

-So -Horatio paused-, ¿are you admitting to the attempted murder of Ashley Jackson?

-Wait a minute. ¿Attempted murder?

For every answer Horatio laid out a picture of where Ashley was found, with the bloody clothes and the face and body full of bruises.

-They beat her to death and then left her in the bush to be eaten by animals.

Charlie started trembling.

-¿Then why do you admit it?

Charlie covered his face with his hands and began to cry, more and more disconsolate. The tears he had accumulated over so many days could no longer be contained. Between sobs, he began to tell the truth.

-If Ashley is in a hospital, dying, it's my fault, -he answered crying-. If it wasn't for me she would be at the winter dance, and not dying in the IVF unit.

_Flashback start_

_Although it is a mid-December night, it is a bit hot and the sky is full of stars. __Charlie was walking around Brickell Key Park while reflecting on what happened at the home of his ex-girlfriend, Katlyn. Katlyn was a bad person, but Ashley was just the opposite. She fought like a lioness and always stood up to injustice._

_Charlie picked up the pace when he saw a girl with long red hair sitting on a bench. It was Ashley._

_-Hey -Charlie sat next to her-. I've been looking everywhere for you._

_-I guess it's to ask me to explain my show at the party._

_-No. Well, yeah. __I just want to know if you were going to ask me to be your date for the winter formal._

_Ashley didn't say anything but she got as red as her hair._

_-The truth is, Ashley, I couldn't possibly..._

_-It's okay, I understand -Ashley interrupted-. I've waited too long._

_-I mean, ¡I couldn't say no to you!_

_-Are you sure about that? I know you have trouble with Katlyn, just like I do, and if she sees us together she can make our lives miserable._

_Charlie smiled._

_-I don't care. I care about you -__he bent down and kissed her on the lips._

_Ashley closed her eyes and handed it back to him, as she played with every lock of her hair. She held a groan as she felt his lips running down her neck. __Suddenly she tensed up and stepped aside_

_-Ash, ¿what's wrong with you?_

_The girl bit her lip. __She had something very important to tell him._

_-I know you'll find it very strange. You may even think I'm paranoid, but we can't do this in public._

_It wasn't a good idea for her to be seen out there with Charlie in a loving attitude. That would have put him in danger, and her in a very risky situation. ¡Even more than it already was!_

_-What, kissing? -he looked at her strangely._

_-Not hugging, not even holding hands._

_-¿Why? ¿Are you shy? ¿Is it because of your father?_

_\- At least, for some time. But until that day comes, everyone better think we're just classmates._

_-¿Does that mean we won't get back together like this?_

_-Yes, if we're alone._

_-__It's hard to believe that last year, before I had leukemia, she was my girlfriend. _

_Ashley's eyes popped out of her head._

_-¿Did you say leukemia?_

_-Yes, she had leukemia last year, but it was so early that very little chemotherapy was needed. But she had to have a bone marrow transplant. The funniest thing of all is that after the transplant he started wearing T-shirts with the image of a chimera._

_Ashley had her mouth open with pure amazement. If she opened it a little more, her jaw would be dislocated._

_-I have some business to attend to -she said, standing up. _

_-What kind of business?_

_-The kind that are keeping us from being together -__she replied, giving him a paper._

_-Ashley, remember, it's just high school._

_The girl gave a sad smile and disappeared into the shadows of the night._

_Flashback end._

-I was wrong. It wasn't just high school.

By the end of his story, Charlie was crying his eyes out. He was finally aware of what had happened.

-¿But why didn't you tell us?

-You don't understand. I'm the bad druggie boy. I had no proof, even though I was on the shortcut that Ashley used to take. And I'd probably be the scapegoat. If I said it was Katlyn who tried to kill her, no one would believe me. She's untouchable. She's the queen bee.

Horatio was trying to assimilate what he heard. That was like a piece of a different puzzle.

-¿Do you have the paper that Ashley gave you?

Charlie took the paper out of his pocket. It was a sequence of names with a series of numbers.

* * *

-These are IP addresses, -Natalia said.

-Yes. And Charlie says it was Katlyn and her friends who tried to kill Ashley.

-¿They? That's impossible. The DNA samples from the robberies don't match Katlyn's DNA.

"¿How many secrets have you kept from yourself, Ashley?"

-¡Oh, God...! -he thought aloud-. The chimera.

-¿What's going on?

-Fuck, Natalia. ¿What do we always say? "When we rule out the impossible, all that's left is...

-...the improbable." -she finished.

-The statistically improbable, but possible. It's documented.

-What is documented?

-The chimera, Natalia. The chimera.

-You'll have to draw me a plan, because I don't understand anything.

He got up euphoric.

Neurologists say that when you solve a mystery, the brain gives you a shot of dopamine. It's addictive. It makes you feel good.

Horatio was addicted to that Eureka feeling .

-¿Where are you going? -shouted Natalia.

-¡I have to talk to Alex! -he shouted at her as he ran to the autopsy room.

"She'll understand everything."


	7. Chapter VI

**Chapter 6**

The winter dance was really lively. The entire high school class had gathered at the school sports hall, prepared for the occasion. The girls wore silk dresses and the boys wore fancy suits. But there were some special guests: several CSIs and Lieutenant Horatio Caine. They had a very specific objective: to arrest those responsible for the robberies that had terrorized the city.

Katlyn and her friends were dancing with their respective partners. When she saw the cops, she frowned.

-For God's's sake, can't you stop your stupid investigation?

-Hard to give up the feeling of being on top, huh, Katlyn? -asked Horatio.

-What do you mean?

-You were the queen of everything in this high school. Until Ashley came along. She stood up to you and your friends.

-I don't have to keep listening to his bullshit.

-When you said "Jump," they said, "How high?"

-Being popular Is a full-time job, 24/7.

-Then Ashley comes in and tells you to jump. Showing everyone how much of a loser you are.

Katlyn made a threat to leave, but he grabbed her by the arm.

-The Katlyn I know never runs away.

-Are you going to stop me? I know my rights, and the DNA you found at the crime scene doesn't match mine.

-It's true -Horatio conceded-. But that DNA is yours, even though it has the same profile as Doug Baron's.

-But what's this all about?

A lot of cops showed up at that point. Among them, Arthur Jackson, visibly angry.

-Katlyn Stone, Alice Ross and Claire Scott, you're under arrest for criminal conspiracy to commit armed robbery, seven murders and attempted murder.

* * *

-I know my rights.

They were in the interrogation room. Katlyn's armour of arrogance was beginning to crack.

-And I know your closet inside out. Chloe's shoes, Loubutin, Ferragamo. That's not counting Loewe's accessories and Gucci, Chanel and Prada clothes. All of that costs an awful lot. And your parents have paid you absolutely nothing.

-And what does all this have to do with Ashley and this Doug Baron guy?

-You like haute couture and you needed a lot of money for it. All your classmates had jewellery worth a lot of money. So you hatched a plan: have your friends seduce your classmates so you would know where they kept their jewelry. And when they resisted being robbed, you beat them to death. And the reason you didn't get caught is because you're a human chimera.

-I have no idea what you're saying.

-You know what I mean. You have two sets of DNA in your body, because you have post-hematopoietic transplant chimerism. The bone marrow transplant got Doug Baron's DNA in your blood, and your own in your saliva. That's why Doug Baron was accused. In other words, you committed the perfect crime. But it wasn't perfect enough for Ashley to realize everything.

Katlyn clenched her fists, and spat out what happened.

-That fucking bitch... She was gonna blow everything up.

_Flashback start_

_Ashley's walking home with a secret on her back. At one point she pulls out her cell phone and dials her father's number._

_-Hello, Dad..._

_She couldn't say anything else. Katlyn, Alice and Claire cut him off. Scared, she reached for the taser in her pocket._

_ -What are you__ doing here?_

_Katlyn gave a wicked smile._

_-It seems like a lie that you noticed everything. I managed to cheat everyone, even the police, from the first moment. Everyone but you._

_"You're wrong," Ashley thought. She knew Katlyn was a bastard but never imagined she was a killer. _

_-¿Why are you doing this? ¿Just to support your shopping addiction?_

_-For a hobby, more like. I think I'm more of a serial killer than a professional thief. You just get a taste of this killing thing._

_-¿So do you like Charlie or was it just a stunt to rob him of everything? _

_Katlyn, missed, looked around Ashley. She saw that her hair could not hide a hickey. Anger took hold of her._

_-¡Get that bitch! -she shouted._

_Ashley took out her Taser and shot Alice, who collapsed like a sack of potatoes. A few seconds later she felt a blow to her shoulder and the pain got worse and worse. As she took her hand away, she noticed that it was soaked with a hot, thick liquid. It was blood. She had a bullet embedded in her body. _

_Katlyn came over, carrying a gun with a silencer in her hand._

_-I assure you, you're not going to get out of here alive -her voice had a totally neutral tone._

_-¿How are you going to explain a bullet hole in my body?_

_-You will never be found._

_Alice had recovered from the shot and the three of them pounced on Ashley, kicking her in her platform shoes. Ashley was screaming and defending herself but after a while she stopped moving. _

_-I think she's dead. Let's clean this mess up._

_They loaded Ashley's body into Katlyn's car and dumped her downhill into the woods._

_Flashback end_

* * *

Katlyn, Alice and Claire left the police station in handcuffs. It was already midnight. Meanwhile Arthur Jackson was putting up a piece of paper on the school bulletin board. It said "My daughter is my hero".

Soon after, he got a call from Horatio.

-What are you going to do now?

-I'm going to visit my daughter. Doctors say she's going to be okay.

* * *

Ashley opened her eyes, finally escaping a world of nightmares. She saw two men around her.

-Dad... -She tears up, but she didn't have the strength to wipe them away.

Arthur held his daughter so tightly that he nearly drowned her. Horatio smiled.

-Honey, this is Lieutenant Horatio Caine.

Ashley swallowed. She knew what was coming.

-You committed a crime by appropriating confidential information, but you did it to expose a murderer. So the D.A. won't press charges.

The girl smiled a smile of relief.

-Does that mean Katlyn and her friends are going to jail?

-Yes. For life.

-Dad, I saw Mom. And I saw a woman that Horatio knows. Her name is Marisol. She says she loves you and she misses you.

Horatio felt a shudder.

-Thank you. For everything you've done -he looked at the door-. It seems to me you have two visitors.

Charlie Sheridan and Lucy White approached the girl with a bouquet of flowers in their hand. They looked at her, and realized that the girl in the bed and the lifelong friend were the same person.

-Ash, I owe you my life.

-She's done enough -he stroked her cheek-. She's done a lot of damage to the most valuable jewel I have, which is you.

Ashley's eyes, and even her best friend, filled with tears at such a touching declaration of love.

Even Arthur couldn't hide the emotion.

-Please -pleaded Lucy-. ¡Somebody say something stupid, now, or I'm going to cry!

* * *

At a cop bar, the entire CSI team was making a drink.

-To all the people who save lives.

-To love and sacrifice.

-To Ashley Jackson.

END


End file.
